The benefits of ensuring positive patient identification to reduce medical errors are obvious.

Information gleaned, particularly with active RFID tags, will m RFID can help with a wide variety of problems in healthcare from the fact that 10 of patients suffer an !adverse event!" #0 of patients ta$e their medication incorrectly and up to 1# of hospital assets by value are lost or stolen every year RFID a definition % RFID is a wireless &ID' (&utomatic identification and data capture technologies) use to trac$ and manage items with minimal (human) intervention. RFID is a system that involves electronic tags containing data encoded (e.g. identification) onto a integrated circuit (I'). & device (reader) sends an electromagnetic signal to the tag. The tag transmit its code when a signal is received from a reader Type of tags % RFID Tag also called a transponder is a device attached to or embedded in a physical ob*ect to be automatically identified. The transponder components are a integrated circuit (chip), a antenna and the substrate (support). 1. Passive tags % not e+uipped with a battery. They are activated by a reader. ,. Active tags % e+uipped with a battery which that amplify the signal transmitted bac$ to the reader. -. Semi-passive tags (also called battery.assisted passive tags or /&0) % e+uipped with a battery which energi1es built in sensors they failed to see the Internet as an infrastructure on which many applications could be built. &ctually, the technology is ready, and many companies have successfully deployed an RFID infrastructure and used it for a wide variety of applications. let IT build and maintain the infrastructure re+uired to support applications.

Due to the fact that paperwor$ is time consuming, patient transfers are often poorly coordinated, and busy staffs *uggling multiple responsibilities do not always communicate well with each other or with the patient and their family. These system inefficiencies create opportunities for medical errors and safety gaps, potentially harming the patient. The cost of middleware varies from vendor to vendor and is usually based on the number of locations where it will be installed, the comple2ity of the application and many other factors. RFID middleware can
be purchased for as little as 3#,000 to 3,0,000, and with enough functionality to run most RFID applications.
The Intermec RFID Deployment Services Group, whose members have a combined total of more than 25 years of RFID e perience in addition to designing and implementing an RFID system,

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The purpose of this study is to investigate the e2tent of implementation of RFID systems in 'alifornia public and academic libraries, and to ascertain the goals of libraries in implementing RFID, as well as the costs and benefits associated with the use of this technology. The gathering of such information, it is hoped, will inform and assist libraries that are contemplating the purchase of RFID systems by providing them with information from libraries that have already adopted such systems. This data can provide a framewor$, a planning tool, for libraries to use in ma$ing their own cost.benefit pro*ections and can help inform their decisions about RFID adoption. /enefits in the form of cost savings were reali1ed both in the reduction in number of staff needed to circulate boo$s and in improved productivity of staff. Implementation of technology, upgrades and brea$throughs promise better performance, more efficiency, faster service, and less cost. RFID systems offer the ability to perform inventories using hand.held scanners 'osts to train staff and patrons in the use of the e+uipment turned out to be +uite insignificant. 5hen cost figures were supplied they ranged from 36#0 to 3,,077.
RFID Documents 4urgery at 8untsville 8ospital Huntsville Hospital decided on an RFID-enabled system mainly because it
wanted to improve efficiencies and communications that would directly improve surgical start times, Cathcart says. !he surgery department had identified several components to the patient throughput and staff wor"flow that often creates a bottlenec" throughout the continuum of care, she says. !he hospital specifically wanted to improve communication among staff via real-time updates of patients# status, provide caregivers with visual cues via an $CD monitor of scheduled procedures and their status, as well as provide a mechanism that would correctly identify patients being prepped for surgery.

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Tags Trac$ 4urgical 0atients at /irmingham 8eartlands 8ospital. /y /eth /acheldor &pril 10, ,006
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the pac$aging is structured to allow the RFID tag to be attached to an ob*ect to be trac$ed.

may also help filter data more effectively, and remotely monitor, control and maintain readers. =iddleware is a generic term used to describe software that resides between the RFID reader and enterprise applications. It>s a critical component of any RFID system, because the middleware ta$es the raw data from the reader:a reader might read the same tag 100 times per second: filters it and passes on the useful event data to bac$.end systems. The most important component is the RFID.specific software that translates the raw data from the tag into information about the goods and orders that are represented by the tags. This information can then be fed into other databases and applications for further processing. RFID middleware, simply put, is a software layer residing between the RFID hardware and the e2isting bac$.end system or application software. It e2tracts data from the RFID interrogators (readers), filters it, aggregates it and routes it to enterprise applications such as a warehouse management system (5=4), enterprise resource planning (?R0) software or a manufacturing e2ecution system (=?4).
!he device is available now, with cost varying depending on the specific implementation. %ricing starts at &'( for each RFID-enabled wristband )in *uantities of +,((( or less,, and &'(( per month )for a one-year subscription, for one %oc"et %C, including a software license and R-!ra""er server software. http.//www.rfid0ournal.com/article/articleview/1233/'/+/ http.//www.rfid0ournalevents.com/healthcare/

RFID>s Role in Improving 8ospital @perations Ahttp%99www.rfid*ournal.com9article9articleview9,,19B http%99www.rfid*ournal.com9fa+

Roberti, =ar$. CRFID Documents 4urgery at 8untsville 8ospitalD

http%99www.rfid*ournal.com9article9articleview9-#6,9,919 /y /eth /acheldor &ug. ,1, ,006: =arch 1, ,00, =ar$ is the founder and editor of RFID Eournal. 8e has reported on business for ma*or publications worldwide since 1<F#

0age G. 8ospitals tune in to RFID. =aterial management in healthcare 1;.# =ay ,006% 1F.,0 =?DGIH? with Full Te2t. < Hov. ,006. I&GIG?@.
I recommend that implement RFID for the use of It will become apparent how it could improve e+uipment and asset trac$ing, materials management, 0atient identification. Favoring RFID for applications such as asset and inventory

RFID can improve patient treatment and safety by reducing medical errors, improving the security of medicine and the facility, and improving patient compliance. RFID systems can help improve patient care while cutting costs wrong site surgery =any hospitals are implementing one.off systems to achieve a specific goal, such as trac$ing assets and managing inventory. &pplication of RFID for counting surgical instruments, which would improve safety, time and inventory control. Insights into how to move from one.off applications to an infrastructure approach to RFID. I recommend that we ta$e infrastructure approach to RFID applications. I recommend we ta$e an infrastructure approach to RFID and implement it for applications of patient identification,
management, where the potential for return on investment is the greatest.

trac$ing surgical instruments, and managing asset. I recommend that we implement RFID as a trial base in our surgical department for 1, =onths. I propose that to increase patient safety, reduce cost and enhance the overall patient care we implement RFID technology use in our surgical unit. I propose that we plan for implementation in our surgical department since it enhances the most benefits. short.term or long.term plan. It
Healthcare providers today face serious challenges on all fronts. Hospital administrators have 4harpened their focus on cost containment and efficiency. !he government has greater interest in Healthcare issues, and hospitals must monitor compliance. %atients are becoming more informed and therefore more discerning about who provides their healthcare its new facility, which
employs 53(( wor"ers and serves 63,((( patients each year, its primary goal was to improve standards of treatment with patient-centric care. !he hospital also wanted to increase productivity, improve coordination between caregivers, and create a collaborative care environment where patients choose to receive treatment and clinicians want to wor". !he new system uses radio fre*uency identification )RFID, technology to continually monitor device location. !he hospital7s staff can *uic"ly locate any tagged device in moments using the map-based interface. %atients are more satisfied because they don7t have to wait 8bstract I learn about RFID technology system and it7s potiential benefits through word of mouth by professor in business classes, from articles and 0ournal that I read, and RFID video. I recogni9e how this technology benefits could reduce cost, enhance performance and the overall *uailty of patient care in our surgical department. !he use of RFID could eliminate potiential surgical problem. :e could achieve these result by implementing RFID application for patient identification and to trac" surgical e*uipment and assets/inventory. RFID potiential benefits )increase patient safety, eliminate errors, patient safication, cost reduction, all of which will enhance the overall *uality of patient care and allow us to "eep our competitive edge. !o achieve this result we will implement the use of RFID for identify patient which increase patient safety, for tagging surgical tools which reduce lawsuit, and for managing inventory which reduces labor cost all which elimates the problem in

Industry representatives estimate that about ,00 hospitals are using RFID technology (page, 1 or 1F ,00;) to protect patient from potential mista$es in surgical procedures. The primary goal of RFID is to improve patient care by reducing medical errors, potential lawsuits, cost, and most importantly the time not spent on patient since now more than ever patient are choosing their hospital. RFID is an enabling technology that can be applied across many health-care applications. In this session, our panel discusses three real-world applications of the technology that can save health-care providers money, boost operating efficiencies, reduce liabilities and improve patient safety.
surgery.

@ur hospital has been fre+uently recogni1ed for providing a +uality wor$ environment, as well as demonstrating a commitment to +uality care by implementing processes, procedures, and technology to reduce errors, and increase patient safety to improve the +uality of patient care.) and we can do this by implementing RFID technology for application of patient safety identification, assets trac$ing that will prevent common surgical errors.